252 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
fSEPT, 38. TQOl. 
coarse fishes would cease to pour in, for the fish that 
refuse to be ensnared by the angler's lure can only be 
taken by net or seine. 
Ik is evident that the industry in these coarse fishes 
must be fostered. It is a matter of no small commercial 
importance. Over 14,000,000 pounds of this class of fish 
were taken last year within the jurisdiction of Illinois. 
The laboring- man, earning a dollar a day, cannot pay 25 
cents a pound for the finer fish taken by the angler. Carp, 
the much-abused Cyprinoid, that has not had a word of 
praise from any mortal since its introduction in this 
continent — vilified by ever}' sporting paper from Maine 
to California, a nightmare for the angler, and a general 
all-around Jonah^ — will yet loom up like a phoenix in the 
piscatorial horizon as the future cheap food supplj' for the 
generations that are to come. Permit me to set down 
here a little anecdote illustrating my opinion of the carp 
as a food fish, and showing that the tirade against it is 
mostly prejudice. Some two years ago my esteemed 
colleague, Col. S. P. Bartlett, and myself were at Spring- 
field, endeavoring to convince the Legislature that it was 
necessary for the Fish Commission to have a new boat, 
because the old one lacked capacity for the accompHsh- 
ment of the work laid out for the year then ensuing. We 
thought we were meeting with fair success, until one of 
the members arose and cried out, in a ponderous voice: 
"That's the man." pointing to Col. Bartlett, "who intro- 
duced those infernal Dutch carp that killed all other 
fish, and aren't fit for a dog to eat." We supposed we 
were lost; but the bill w-as only on its second reading, 
and' we had another chance. Col. Bartlett went to 
Meredosia for a 20-pound carp, turned it over to the 
chef at the hotel, and gave instructions to have it well 
prepared and put on the menu as "red snapper." The 
instructions were followed, and it came on in artistic 
manner. When dinner was served, not less than twenty 
of the m.embers called for "red snapper" from two to 
three times. After they discovered they had eaten carp 
our bill passed without a dissenting vote. We never 
heard anything more in the way of tirade against carp 
during the session. I give this anecdote to show that it 
takes a connoisseur at least to distinguish carp when 
properly prepared. Suppose wc grant that it was a mis- 
take to introduce these fishes into our waters, is it not 
better to take them also under the protection of our 
laws, to regard them as a real money producer and a 
source of cheap food for a large class of our people, 
since all this can be so readily accomplished without 
detriment to our game fishes? 
In a word, now, our new law gives the market fisher- 
man an opportunity to realize his revenues from Aug. i 
to April I. in the rivers used for commercial navigation 
only; all other streams and lakes will be left for the 
angler. With the proper enforcement of the amended 
law of which I have spoken, there is every reason to 
expect that the coarse fish will remain abundant in our 
waters, and that the game fishes will increase from year 
to year. Thus I trust you will be able to get a faint 
glimpse of the fact that we are striving to do a good 
work in Illinois in preserving and enlarging the means 
which God and nature have placed in our hands for sup- 
plying an inexpensive and healthful food for the table 
of the masses and a dainty for the tables of the rich and 
the well-to-do. In this important work we shall pro- 
gress the more the better the people — the source of our 
authority— understand the methods by which and the 
ends to which our efforts are directed. 
Novel Fishing in Burma. 
Fjsminc nowadays is such a fine art that there is Uttl& 
new or unknown which can be written about it. The 
following experience, however, seems to me to be so 
unique, and at the same time such a cute method of out- 
witting the finnv tribe, that I send you an account of 
the fishing in the hope it may be of interest to your 
readers. 
The scene was laid in Burma, and the methods- em- 
ployed are eminently characteristic of the Burman and 
his indolent ways. 
AVc, a party of three, had gone off some two miles 
inland from the river Irrawaddy to look up a small jheel. 
and see if we could get a few ducks for the benefit of 
our larder. Arrived at the jhecl, we found a fairly deep 
piece of Avater, surrounded by thick jungle and khine 
grass, without a single duck or teal to be seen on it, and, 
on inquiry from some fishermen who had a small en- 
campment on the borders, we were told that there were 
none there, the water being evidently too deep to afford 
the requisite feeding for them. Having come so far we 
were, however, not to be discouraged, so. after a deal 
of persuasion, we got three boats and a fisherman each, 
and proceeded to explore the sides of the lake. The 
boats were of the ordinary dug-out type, rather larger, 
perhaps, than usual, and. at first, we took little notice 
of the peculiar fittings rigged up in each of them; the 
fisherman poled them along, the water being about 8 
or TO feet deep. After a short while, we found that there 
was i-eally nothing to shoot, and it was then that we 
turned our attention to the fishing, and asked the boat- 
men how they raiight their fish. The boats were about 
20 feet in length, and each end was stiffened with some 
mud or sand ballast. On one side, nearly the full length 
of the boat, was a net stretched on a framework of bam- 
boos., and this stood up at right angles, or nearly so, to 
the Avater. On the opposite side was another framework 
of bamboos, with thin strips of boarding fastened closely 
to it, the whole framework and oovering looking like a 
iiugc door floating alongside. 
The upper surface of the door was whitewashed, and 
Ihe whole was so arranged that it could be inclined from 
the gunwale of the boat to a point about 3 feet under 
the water, or raised to float on the surface. This, then, 
was their stock in trade, but how it was to be used to 
catch fish we could not imagine. But we were soon to 
^ee. At our request two of the boats arranged themselves 
abreast, with their "doors" lowered or inclined down- 
ward, toward each other, forming V in the water, and 
the boats were kept just far enough apart to allow the 
lower edges of the "doors" to about touch. 
In this position they poled them along in about 6 feet 
dl w«t?r. mA wy ^.^9^ v\'f r ?hoai of m^u 
boxed up between the boats. When this was the case. 
the fish never seemed to try and escape at each end of 
the trap, which the^^ might have done, but proceeded to 
leap over the white surfaces of the inclined "doors," and, 
of course, landed in the boats, those which had taken a 
big enough jump to clear the boat being caught by the 
net walls on the other gunwale. , ' 
It was most surprising. In a short half-hour the whole 
floor of the canoes were covered, and, sitting in the cen- 
ter as I was, the fish simply showered on me, and pock- 
ets and cartridge bag could have been filled where I sat 
by the simple method of opening them. The fish were 
ncarl}' all small, like sardines, and very good eating, as 
we proved next morning, but occasionally a large one 
got trapped and came flapping in, and there were si.K in 
my boat Avhen I got back about pound each. And I 
was not sorry to get back, for at the rate they came in 
the boat, which had about 2 inches of freeboard, would 
soon have been unpleasantly loaded. Such was the result 
of about half an hour's fishing, as understood by the wily 
Burman. He .simply stands- and poles the boat along, 
and the fish jump iri — simplicity itself. I would fancy 
him smiling at the results obtained by a fly fisherman at 
home in the same short time. 
Afterward we saw the women folk chopping up the 
evening's catch into small pieces, and, making a sort of 
bundle of them, inclosed in lengths of coarse grass, and 
for each of which they said they got eight annas. But 
the evening air (just about there) was a bit heavy and 
scent laden, so we left quickly, having seen one of the 
most ingenious fishing dodges ever invented, and not 
wanting to gain atiy further information as to how the 
fish are turned into that evil-smelling Burmese delicacy 
called Bala-choung or Nappee.— Correspondence Lon- 
don Fishing Gazette. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Who Can Help Mayor Harrison? 
Chicago, 111.. Sept. 20. — Mayor Carter Harrison, of 
Chicago, -wishes some information in regard to the plant- 
ing of rainbow trout in deep lakes, and since he has been 
unable to sectire answers to his question thus far, he comes 
to Forest and Stream in further search. I have con- 
fidently promised him that no one ever came to this paper 
yet who did not get what he wanted, and it is to be hoped 
that readers will advance any inforniation they may have 
upon the question proposed. 
The facts are these : On the property of the Huron 
Mountait-i Club, of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, of 
wdiich Mayor Harrison is a member, there exists a large, 
deep and cold lake known as Mountain Lake. This lake 
is between three and four miles long, and 45, 50 or 60 feet in 
depth over a large part of its extent. In places the granite 
shores run sharp off into the water. The lake is per- 
haps spring-fed, or, at least, the temperature in the sum- 
mer time at a depth of 20 or 30 feet is always low enough 
to enable a trout to live there. Yet the lake is not settled 
by the brook trout, which inhabit a litlile stream which 
empties into it. It has, indeed, no fish in it excepting 
perch, suckers, chubs and the like, which abound in con- 
siderable numbers. The lake is drained by a small stream 
which, not far froii-i the foot of the lake, drops in a fall of 
45 feet, making it impossible for trout to ascend from 
Lake Sttperior, into which, through the medium of the 
club streams, the lake empties. 
The Huron Motmtain Club has often discussed the ques- 
tion of stocking this lake. Some have advised the use of 
lilie ouananiche, others believe in trying the brook trout 
yet further. Mayor Harrison has rather entertained the 
opinion that the rainbow trout would be the proper fish, 
lie thinks the lake is hardly cold enough for brook trout, 
but that it would be cold enough for rainbow trout. What 
he wishes to know, therefore, is whether the rainbow trout 
has been known to flottrish in a landlocked lake of this 
nature; how cold the water of such lake would need to 
be ; how large the rainbow trotst would perhaps grow in 
such surroundings ; what have been the results of planting 
rainbow trout in such lakes? Is the rainbow native to any 
of the lakes of the Western regions, and if so, what arc the 
conditions of water, habitat, etc., in such locality? 
These questions of planting new fishes are interesting 
ones, and also are very important ones, as must be any 
attempt to alter the natural fauna of a region. Mayor 
Harrison thinks that the rainbow trout could not descend 
over the 4S-foot fall and establish itself in the club 
streams, where it is not wanted. On the other hand, here 
is this big lake which offers no trout fishing and which 
might be put to very good advantage, should the experi- 
ment of planting prove successful. Now, will the good 
readers of Forest and Stream, scientific and otherwise, 
counsel us of their wisdom and experience? 
Good Fishing. 
By the way, it was Mayor Harrison, as will be remem- 
bered, who broke the Huron Mountain record, and also 
Mr. Hempstead Washburne'g heart, by killing a S^-pound 
trout on the main club stream last month. The Mayor 
had yet another fine fishing experience at the club this 
summer. Fishing m the backwater of a logging dam, in 
a pool which seemed to be spring-fed, he ran into a pocket 
of nice trotit, and in two and three-quarter hours caught 
168 of them, very many running a half-pound. They came 
in doubles and trebles time after time. Not needing so 
many fish, the Mayor returned nearly all the catch to the 
water. He thinks this is some of the liveliest fishing he 
ever saw. 
To show the extent of trout fishing possible in preserved 
streams, one may add an item regarding the little stream 
which flows into Mountain- Lake, above mentioned. This 
stream was planted some years ago, and has been re- 
garded as sacred ground by all the club members, who 
.supposed it was not fished by any one. This summer a 
trip was made to the stream to see how the trout were 
getting along. To the surprise, of the club members, they 
found a beaten path on each Stde of the stream, and 
learned, among other thing,^, that on the preceding day a 
kunber jack and his wife had caught i&3 trout on this 
sacred stream, and you can gamble they didn't put any of 
\\\t.\n. either, Th« glwli W ?Mttin§ a good 
thing for the adjacent residents, who, no doubt, appreciate 
the circumstances very much. 
In speaking of this same club, it might be stated that 
Hon. Hempstead Washburne is just back from that coun- 
try, and states that a big, black bear was killed the other 
day not far frorn tfie cottages. Mr. Washburne is some 
subdued since his trout record was broken, but is con- 
soling himself with starting a shooting club of his own 
not far from Chicago. He has killed fifty-nine prairie 
chickens himself on the country which he is tliinking 
of turning into a preserve. 
Grayling in Michigan, 
The following letter is at hand, from Traverse City, 
Mich., commenting upon recently published statements 
regarding the grayling supply in certain streams of Michi- 
gan: 
"I notice in Fork.st and Stream of the 14th inst. a 
letter from Hartford, Mich., stating that there are trout 
and grayling in the Pine, or South Branch, of the Big 
Manistee. This is news to me, so far as the grayling are 
concerned. I have been under the impression that there 
are no grayling in the Pine. It was once a good grayling 
stream. Will the gentleman froin Hartford please tell 
the readers of Forest and Stream how many grayling 
he caught iii the Pine in 190 1 ? There are a few grayling 
in the Manistee above Sharon (formerly known as Jam 
i). I camped and fished for them in August of this. year 
on this river. I am told that there are a few grayling 
left in the headwaters of the Pigeon River, some sixteen 
to eighteen miles from Wolverine, Mich., but I have not 
fished this part of the Pigeon. There are also a few 
grayling left in the headwaters or tributary streams of the 
Au Sable River, I am told, and that is about all there is 
left of the grayling in Michigan, so far as I can learn. 
Grayling fishing on Pine River, in the northern part of 
Lake county, Mich., ended about 1895. There are some 
fair-sized trout in this stream, and there would be more 
but for dynamite, lime, etc. This is the great curse of the 
Michigan .streams. Thousands of trout are destroyed 
each year by illegal methods, and there seems to be no 
remedy, unless the State is willing to pay deputy fish 
and game wardens a reasonable sum for their services. 
"I have no use for the rainbow trout. They are driv- 
ing the speckled trout out of the streams of Michigan. 
They are poor fish for the table. _ Under 2 pounds they 
are taken with the fly. Over this weight, say, 2 to 4 
pounds, they are mostly taken with bait. Above 5 pounds 
they are taken with dynamite and spear, with few excep- 
tions. I know where there are rainbows of large size in 
Michigan waters that can only be caught by illegal 
methods. A few years ago a rainbow was speared near 
this place that Aveighed 10 pounds, and it is probable that 
more of them could be caught the same way. N. F." 
There would seem to be warrant for the belief that the 
grayling has a ghost of a chance in several of the Michi- 
gan streams. I do not dotibt that a specimen or so has 
been seen in the Pine River, and it is known that young 
grayling have been seen in the upper waters of the 
Manistee. Three fine, adult specimens were taken by Mr. 
Geo. Alexander, in a deep and heavy part of the Au Sable 
River, thirty miles below Grayling, Mich., this .spring. 
As to the Pigeon, one cannot state, but I know one other 
stream in Michigan, whose name I am not at liberty to 
give, while last summer and the .summer before that very 
good takes of grayling were made. 
As to the rainbow trout, it is likely that the residents 
of Michigan would quite agree with N. F. It will, no 
doubt, drive out the speckled trout in any stream in 
which it is planted. I have several friends who have 
taken rainbow trout on the fly in weights of 4 and 5 
jiounds, and it seems quite true that the age and weight of 
the fish do not prevent its taking the fly to the same ex- 
tent as in the case of the brook trout. The guides of the 
Alt Sable, for instance, state in general terms that the big 
rainbows will rise to a fly. but the big brook trout will 
not. No doubt some very hea-vy fish are lost by breaking 
the tackle of the angler, and even a small rainbow is hard 
to stop; yet it is no doubt true, as N. F. states, that the 
largest specimens recorded were more apt to have been 
taken on the pitchfork than on the fly. 
Rainbow Against Brook Trout. 
As bearing upon the value of the rainbow trout com- 
pared with the brook and speckled trout, there may be 
offered the following communication from a gentleman 
who writes from Kalamazoo, Mich., and quotes a letter 
from North Carolina. These statements seem to cover 
the question pretty fully. When first introduced into 
Eastern waters the rainbow trout is hailed by the local 
anglers with joy. It is really a better sporting fish, as 
seen in the Eastern streams, than the native brook trout, 
but it does not wear so well in the estimation of the 
anglers. It is believed that in most cases tlic latter regret, 
and commonly too late, the introduction of the rainbow 
trout, which practically drives out the smaller, but not 
less desirable, species. The letter referred to reads as 
follows : 
"In the Forest and Stream of Nov. 17, 1894, there was 
published a letter from W. M. Brown, of Florence, S. C., 
in which he says, in reference to the trout streams in the 
mountains of North Carolina, the following : 
" T w'ould. however, sound a warning note to those 
who love the native brook trout better, but may be 
tempted to plant rainbow trout among them as an experi- 
rnent. Let them forbear. Close observation on the Culu- 
sagee River proves that as the rainbows increase in size 
the native fish decrease in number. In this stream seven 
years ago it was no trouble to kill a creelful of the beau- 
tiful fontinalis in a few hottrs, but every year since they 
have been gradually getting scarce and more scarce, until 
this past summer the creel would not contain ten per cent, 
of this species. I cannot as.sign any other reason for this 
than that the rainbows, being a fiercer, more voracious 
and much more active fish, are steadily cleaning them out 
by preying on them.' 
"My experience and observation with the trout streams 
of Michigan; south of the Straits of Mackinaw, are about 
the same as those of Mr. Brown in North Carolina. No 
one who has had much experience with the rainbows in 
the streams of Michigan will question their game qual- 
ities, but as for eating them, I do not think they are any 
ijetl,?.r tha,n the conxtnon .suckff from the 8S(itie stf^?|jT( " 
